Another Chair Affair?

At It Again

Following the so-called “Chair War” when President Kaczyński and Prime Minister Tusk were at loggerheads about who would attend the EU summit, emotions seemed to have calmed down. However, not so. Another round of political handbags at ten paces seems likely. There were frayed nerves when Poland’s President and Prime Minister could not agree about who would attend the Katyń memorial together with Russian Prime Minister Putin in April. Their public spats do not show any signs of abating – the Office of the President has demanded to know what the Prime Minister’s plans are regarding the Nuclear Summit in Washington on the 12-13 April. Not only can the two not agree on who will attend but their respective policies on American involvement in Europe seem to be vastly different. Kaczyński wants a greater US presence in Europe, whereas Tusk takes a more cautionary approach.
Rzeczpospolita

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Klitschko Challenges the Polish Dragon

Albert Sosnowski

Polish heavyweight Albert Sosnowski will take on the WBC boxing world champion himself, the mighty Vitali Klitschko. This just might turn out to be a story reminiscent of Rocky where an unknown Italian got the chance to go against the champ, Apollo Creed. “I will take full advantage of this opportunity and bring home victory,” promises the Pole. Despite the fact that Sosnowski’s professional record is a formidable – 45 wins in 48 bouts – he is also the current European heavyweight champion. The media are calling his upcoming battle against the top-ranked Ukrainian a “huge, unexpected surprise”. Initially Klitschko challenged Walujew but the Russian giant’s world-famous promoter proved a demanding and stubborn negotiator and refused to accept the financial conditions, consequently Klitschko had to ‘settle for’ Sosnowski. The Pole’s 13th place WBC ranking would normally be too low to warrant a title-fight challenge but luckily for him all boxers positioned higher have either already fought Klitschko and lost or are managed by Don King, known for his unjustified salary demands. Sosnowski, the ultimate underdog, will earn a reputed USD 1 million. Klitschko, like the Pole, has only lost two fights throughout his pro career but those losses came against challengers of much higher stature – Lennox Lewis and Chris Byrd. What is more, he has not lost since 2003. The venue for the fight will be Schalke’s stadium in Gelsenkirchen on May 29. Klitschko, after watching some of Albert’s fights describes his opponent as “tough, quick and experienced”. Sosnowski on the other hand remains undaunted and promises to “achieve what Golota could not manage and become world champion”. The confrontation could be the fight of his life.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Polish Drivers On Drugs

Major Problems

There are more Poles who drive under the influence of drugs than alcohol. This shocking revelation is the main conclusion reached after a thorough 2-year study conducted jointly by the police, the Road Transport Institute and the Forensics Institute. 4,000 people took part in the study – drivers who were spot checked by road police and asked to provide a saliva sample. Experts were looking for traces of over thirty different substances which affect the overall ‘performance’ of drivers. The results were surprising as those with illegal drugs in their bloodstreams clearly outnumbered their ‘alcohol counterparts’ – 2.53% to 1.02%. In Poland drink drivers have been the target of criticism and anti-alcohol campaigns for years, social acceptance for driving drunk is on the wane; consequently the number of drink drivers is steadily dropping. The stats are different when it comes to drugs. Checking for these substances is still quite rare while access is easy, especially among young drivers. Drivers often do not realise that drugs can severely impair the senses and that they are simply illegal. Not everyone is aware that one can be punished for driving ‘high’ while the fact that it is more difficult for police to identify a drug-abusing driver than a drunk one does little to discourage drug use.

These observations serve as further confirmation of the results of a study undertaken in 2008 by the National Drug Bureau. Those questioned said that drugs have a negative impact on a driver’s mental and physical condition but it was not as obvious as it is with alcohol. Many said they did not believe cocaine and amphetamine were dangerous due to the fact that they “increase your concentration, pep you up, give you an energy boost”. On the other hand, marijuana and hallucinogens were seen as “numbing your senses and lulling you to sleep” and therefore best avoided. Anna Małdzińska, a psychologist, disagrees. “Amphetamine creates a false sense of improved concentration even in those individuals who are exhausted. It also gives a completely unjustified boost of confidence. In reality it impairs the senses to a varying degree depending on the amount of drug that has been taken, body type and other factors,” she says and then adds: “Unfortunately the real impact of illegal substances on drivers is a topic that is rarely touched upon during driving courses, the focus is always on alcohol”. Drivers ought to realise that cocaine affects the body in a way similar to amphetamine but to a greater extent. It increases blood pressure and can induce psychosis. Hashish and marijuana slow down reaction time to sight and sound stimuli, lead to apathy, cause drowsiness, sometimes also fits of fear and euphoria. LSD causes hallucinations, “out of body experiences”, seriously lessening a driver’s ability to correctly perceive distances. Heroine impairs night vision and the perception of speed. The abuse of all these substances is extremely dangerous and against the law.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Controversial Ad Withdrawn

Police Pig Dog

A skating magazine has decided to withdraw an advertisement in which a teenager is aiming a gun at the head of a police officer. The Szczecin-based skateboarder clothing manufacturer Stoprocent has been using controversy to promote its Guru Gomez collection – the ad shows a policeman kneeling before a teenage boy who is holding a gun pointed at the man. The caption reads: “On your knees, pig!” The ad first appeared in the January issue of Info Magazine Skateboard. Initially, one of the two owners of the magazine and co-creator of the ad Łukasz Kosy explained that the ad was meant to be a joke. “Young boys dislike policemen and security guards,” he said.

After publishing its first article on the controversy, Gazeta Wyborcza received a letter signed by over 30 representatives of the skateboarding community (skateboarders, editors of magazines and online portals, organisers of events and contests, shop owners and equipment manufacturers) which read (excerpt): “Neither the idea behind the advertisement nor Lukasz Kosy’s statement has anything to do with the origins of or the values skateboarding holds dear. We refuse to accept an ad that depicts and promotes violence. The skateboard unites people and does not cause rifts among them”. A similar letter was later written by representatives of the Czech skateboarding scene, whose authors “had difficulty understanding the ad and were hoping it was a one-off incident”. The editor of Info Magazine Skateboard has stated that the ad will not appear in future editions in spite of the fact that it will mean the loss of a few thousand zloty. The district attorney’s office in Toruń is currently looking into the issue in order to determine whether the law has been broken. The Warsaw police headquarters have issued a statement saying that the ad does in fact violate the law by “either publically encouraging a crime or publically condoning it”.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Did TP Block Access To Internet?

Dirty TP Tricks

The European Commission suspects that TP S.A. used a variety of gimmicks to make it difficult for its competitors to provide access to broadband internet. According to Polish law, TP S.A. is obligated to allow all companies wishing to provide internet access to its customers to use its network. Despite the fact that TP S.A. charges for this service, the European Commission believes that the Polish telecommunications leader has at times been unwilling to carry out its obligations and therefore violated the rules of the competitive market. “Alternative service providers were forced to deal with TP S.A.’s suspect strategy which included demands to meet unreasonable requirements and deadlines.

In addition, TP S.A. refused to provide information needed by its competitors to achieve success on the market” reads the Commission’s communiqué. “These practices were clearly aimed at hindering the development of the Polish broadband internet-access retail market”. The Commission began looking into the case in April of 2009, at the same time as the Electronic Communications Office (UKE), a Polish body, was investigating the issue of Centertel. Centertel, the Orange cellular network operator and subsidiary of TP S.A. decided to lease TP S.A.’s network which allowed it to provide an additional (internet) service – Orange Freedom. A perfectly legal move. However, what was not completely legal was the fact that Centertel was given preferential treatment and paid little for using TP S.A.’s network – at least that was what TP S.A.’s competitors – PTC and Netia – claimed at the time. The UKE’s subsequent investigation showed that Centertel had access to information others did not. The European Commission’s suspicions do not prove that TP S.A. is in violation of the law. If this does turn out to be the case though, one of Poland’s biggest companies will face heavy financial penalties. When TP S.A.’s main shareholder, France Telecom, wound up in a similar predicament it was fined EUR 10 million. The Commission is expecting a reply on the part of TP S.A. within the next two months.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Homosexual Couples Not Inferior

Defending Equality

On Tuesday, March 2, the European Court of Human Rights announced its verdict in the Paweł Kozak vs. Poland case. Mr. Kozak had filed against being discriminated against because of his sexual orientation regarding exercising his right to private and family life. He won the case. In 1998 Mr. Kozak’s partner died; a man with whom Kozak was living at the time and renting a council flat. It was Kozak’s wish to take advantage of the law in force at the time which permitted “a person engaged in a mutual, marital relationship with a lessee of an apartment” to acquire the lease to that apartment. The mayor of Szczecin rejected Kozak’s claim, the refusal was later approved by two courts, their justification being that only heterosexual couples could enjoy the rights resulting from a “mutual relationship” as only that type of relationship could be referred to as “marital”. The courts then quoted the Polish Constitution which defines marriage as a “relationship between a man and a woman”.

The Court of Human Rights explained that “in its search for ways to protect the traditional family, a country has to consider social changes and the fact that there is more than one way a person can exercise the right to private and family life”. The Court admitted that the task of searching for a balance between the protection of the traditional family and the rights of sexual minorities is a difficult one. Countries are given little leeway when it comes to restricting the rights of minorities and Poland seems to have gone too far in this regard by taking away the privilege to acquire the right to lease an apartment from gay couples – especially since that does very little in terms of protecting the family. At the moment in Poland a homosexual is forbidden by law to bury his partner as he is not considered a close enough relative to the deceased. In the event of a partner’s sudden death, homosexuals do not automatically inherit the estate of their partner – they can do so but only after payment of a 20% tax. A homosexual is not permitted to represent his partner in civil cases nor can he claim a partner’s retirement or disability pension after his death even if the two spent their whole lives together, sharing a common household.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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No Flood Insurance

Flooding - What's the Risk?

After heavy snowfall over the winter, floods now pose a serious threat throughout Poland. Not everyone wants to or has the necessary funds to buy an insurance policy that will offer protection against flooding but those who have decided to attempt to buy one are finding it problematic. Some insurance companies have stopped issuing policies, other have significantly raised their prices. Companies such as Warta have adopted a different, more unusual approach. “Our insurance salesmen are allowed to postpone the day the protection takes effect if a flood is either absolutely certain or very likely to take place in a certain area,” says a Warta employee. This means we can take out an insurance policy and pay for it immediately but the actual coverage will begin a month later. If our house is flooded prior to the start date, the insurance company will not provide any compensation to cover our losses. Compensa has stopped selling policies altogether and comments that “the risk of flooding has become too high”. It is probable that other insurance providers will soon adopt the same approach and either withdraw them completely or dramatically raise prices. Hestia is one of the few companies that has yet to introduce changes. “Our clients can still take out a policy at a regular rate, regardless of where they live. We are monitoring the situation and may make amendments to our sales policy if we consider it necessary in the near future,” says a Hestia representative. It appears that two weeks ago all or most insurance agents, irrespective of what company they are employed by, were instructed to carefully verify the flood situation in areas where the risk is highest before issuing any policies.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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